Stage One of the project comprises 61 turbines (226MW nameplate capacity), to be located approximately 30 kilometers north of Horsham.

During this stage of the project, around 150 jobs in regional Victoria will be created during construction. Once fully operational, which is expected to occur by mid-2019, Murra Warra Stage One will generate permanent jobs for ongoing monitoring and maintenance works.

RES and Macquarie Capital are providing equity finance for Stage One. Debt financing of approximately $A320 million has been secured for Stage One through a consortium comprising of ANZ, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Westpac Banking Corporation.

Today’s announcement follows the announcement in December 2017 of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that were secured with a consortium of large energy users including Telstra, ANZ, Coca Cola Amatil and the University of Melbourne. Securing these PPAs provided the project with contracting certainty over the power output from Stage One.

Pre-construction works have already begun. A contract for construction has been awarded to Senvion, one of the world’s leading turbine manufacturers, and Downer, one of Australia’s top civil and electrical contractors. The project will be connected to the grid network by a new terminal station which will be built, owned, and operated by AusNet services.

Matt Rebbeck, Chief Executive Officer of RES Australia said: “The Murra Warra Wind Farm is a world class project which once constructed will be one of the highest performing wind farms in the southern hemisphere.”

“We are proud to be making this important contribution to the regional Victorian economy. We have developed a strong relationship with the local community and look forward to continuing to engage with community stakeholders as we enter into the construction phase for Stage One.”

Marco Perona, Commercial Director RES EMEA commented: “This is a significant achievement for the Australian business and for the RES Group as a whole, and another step in the realisation of RES’ vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable low carbon energy.”

Chris Voyce, Macquarie Capital’s ANZ Co-head of Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables said: “Murra Warra Wind Farm is a strong example of project developers with complementary expertise partnering together to deliver important greenfield energy projects that increase and diversify the supply of electricity.”

Chris continued “Achieving financial close means Stage One of Murra Warra is now fully funded, and with the PPAs signed in late 2017, there are guaranteed customers for the clean energy that will be generated. This demonstrates a market for clean electricity in Australia, and has given the local community certainty over the economic benefits of the project.”

When both Stage One and Stage Two are fully constructed, Murra Warra will comprise 116 turbines and have a total nameplate capacity of 429MW.

RES has been chosen to deliver operations and maintenance (O&M) services to the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult for their offshore met mast situated approximately three nautical miles off Blyth.

RES will be delivering scheduled and unscheduled maintenance plus 24/7 remote operations for the structures, equipment and instrumentation systems. This will include all work on the mast together with project management, data management and provision of offshore logistics. A major component of the services will be the provision of support to the installation and maintenance activities relevant to research and developments projects developed by ORE Catapult and tested on the structures of the met mast.

This contract follows a previous three year contract term where RES provided the support services to ORE Catapult to operate and maintain the Anemometer Hub.

"By winning a competitive tender process we have demonstrated to our client that our experience and expertise in providing O&M services to the wider offshore wind industry matched with excellent health & safety track record and good value for money is very difficult to beat.”

Broomfield, CO – Renewable Energy Systems (RES), a leader in the development, construction, and operation of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects in the Americas, is pleased to announce that construction has begun on the Hog Creek Wind Project located in Hardin County, OH. The project, owned by EDP Renewables (EDPR), is on schedule to be operational before the end of 2017 and will provide enough clean electricity to power approximately 19,000 Ohio homes. RES completed the project development and transferred Hog Creek wind project ownership to EDPR in 2017.

“RES is grateful to the surrounding community for being supportive during the development cycle for this project. That patience has paid off and now Hog Creek Wind Project will bring significant benefits to the region,” stated Shalini Ramanathan, VP Origination, RES in the Americas. “RES is pleased to construct our third project for EDP Renewables, a tremendous partner in bringing the benefits of renewable energy to communities across North America.”

“The Hog Creek Wind Project is a great addition to EDP Renewables’ growing wind portfolio in Ohio,” said Ryan Brown, EDP Renewables North America Executive Vice President – Eastern Region and Canada. “Moreover, EDP Renewables is eager to make additional investments in Ohio to provide more economic benefits to the state’s residents and its communities. EDP Renewables applauds those who are working to ease Ohio’s onerous siting regulations, which, if amended, would encourage more wind development in the state.”

“Once again, NRCO has assisted SMECO with procuring wind energy to help the cooperative meet state requirements. As we add more and more renewable energy to our power portfolio, we demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Jeff Shaw, SMECO Vice President of Distributed Energy and Sustainability.

With the completion of the Hog Creek Wind Project, EDPR will expand its operational capacity to more than 260 MW in the state of Ohio. The project will have a significant impact on the region in providing a number of economic benefits to its surrounding communities. Hog Creek Wind Project will make property tax payments to Hardin County estimated at $594,000 per year and more than $10 million will be paid to local landowners through the life of the project. And in the community, Hog Creek Wind Project recently donated $20,000 to the Hardin County Historical Museum to upgrade the electrical system in the building. In addition, the project has established an internship program with Ohio State University that is expected to begin in 2018.

Hog Creek Wind Project is the first wind project that RES has developed or constructed in Ohio. The company has previously developed three innovative energy storage facilities across the state (Clinton, Willey, and Battery Storage of Ohio). With the addition of the Hog Creek Wind Project, EDP Renewables will now own and operate a total of three wind farms in Ohio. Others include the 100 MW Timber Road II Wind Farm (operational since 2011) and the 101 MW Amazon Wind Farm US Central (operational since 2016).

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About RES in the Americas

Since 1997, RES has been providing development, construction, and operations services to the utility-scale wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage markets across the Americas. The company employs more than 1,500 employees and has over 9,000 MW of utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage projects and has constructed more than 1,000 miles of transmission lines throughout the U.S. and Canada. RES’ U.S. corporate office is located in Broomfield, CO with regional offices located in Austin, TX, Minneapolis, MN, Old Saybrook, CT, and Sacramento, CA. Globally, RES has developed and/or built over 12 GW of renewable energy capacity, has an asset management portfolio exceeding 2 GW, and is active in a range of renewable technologies including wind, solar, energy storage, and transmission. For more information visit www.res-group.com

About EDP Renewables (EDPR)

EDP Renewables (Euronext: EDPR) is a global leader in the renewable energy sector and the world’s fourth-largest wind energy producer. With a sound development pipeline, first class assets and market-leading operating capacity, EDPR has undergone exceptional development in recent years and is currently present in 12 markets (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the UK and the US). Energias de Portugal, S.A. (“EDP”), the principal shareholder of EDPR, is a global energy company and a leader in value creation, innovation and sustainability. EDP has been a Dow Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years.

Eighty years ago, when rural areas needed electricity, cooperatives were created. Visionary men and women helped to form SMECO, which now provides electric service to more than 160,000 customers in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County.

Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers. Customer-members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. They share the responsibility of ownership by financing the cooperative’s operations, but they also share its rewards.

Each year, SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are allocated to customers’ capital credit accounts. SMECO uses margins as working capital for new construction and system improvements. Then, when the Board determines that the financial condition of the co-op warrants, members receive a refund.

As a cooperative, SMECO will always put its members first and be responsive, reliable, and resourceful—the power you can count on.

Formed in 2008 by 21 cooperatives, the NRCO aims to increase access to cost-effective renewable energy resources for electric cooperatives around the country. NRCO provides full origination and development services for its Owner-Members and cooperative customers, with nearly one gigawatt of wind and solar projects completed to date including 41 cooperative-run community solar farms. For more information see www.nrco.coop.